Dragon Ball: Mercy
by LucaBicono
Summary: One merciful act is all it takes to make a change. A change is all it takes to make things better or worse. And what could be worse than the Earth losing it's greatest hero?


Anger.

All he could feel was anger.

...No. Anger was too soft a word. What he was feeling was more...hollow. Despondence? Was that the word? Depressed? Lost?

Bah, who cared anymore? He certainly didn't. He looked down, cringing as he once more acknowledged his missing legs and arm, lost by his own attack. An attack he'd stolen from one of his millions of victims. Billions of victims. Hundreds of billions.

Hundreds. Of. Billions…

And he'd chosen to kill the one weasel that just so happened to be the catalyst for his downfall.

Lord Freeza, Emperor of the Universe, had been reduced to a limbless shadow of his former self in just one day. He never imagined this would happen when he woke up this morning. His hubris had been his downfall, trusting too much in the power of a form that he'd never used. A form he wasn't used to.

He looked back, watching as Planet Namek pulsed and cracked apart, debris beginning to fly off of the surface as the five minutes came to an end. Was the Saiyan still on it? A piece of him wanted to hope he was. Wanted to feel the same ruthlessness in his bones that he'd felt his whole life. Wanted to have revenge.

But he just couldn't care.

The Saiyan had spared him. After all of his talk, all of his banter, all of his drivel about beating him and making him pay and killing him…

...Come to think of it, he'd never vowed to kill him. Only make him pay. Only get back at him. Only make him feel the same things he made his victims feel. And perhaps he'd succeeded. Freeza had been beaten. Humiliated. Absolutely destroyed.

His special force was dead, and even if any of them were still alive, they'd certainly be dead now that the planet was exploding. His pride had been shattered, by nothing more than a mere ape. His legs, his tail, his empire...All gone in the blink of an eye. All taken by the last of the Saiyans, Kakarot, Son Goku.

Right now, he couldn't tell what his biggest mistake was. Was it killing that Earthling and creating his own worst nightmare? Was it turning his back and sparing the Saiyan, instead of killing him with the energy he'd been given, undeservingly? On the one hand, not killing that Earthling would have prevented the Saiyan from transforming. On the other, sparing him had ensured the loss of his kingdom. His father...his brother...they'd be coming after him now. Hunting him. Sparing a foe was not just a dishonor, it was a crime. Attacking the Saiyan and dying would have at least spared him the horrors his father would have in store when he found him.

A roaring caught his attention, and he noticed he'd been spacing out as he floated away from the dying planet. He spun around, watching as the ball of magma and rock finally collapsed in on itself, leaving nothing but a bright flash of light, a loud, high-pitched whine, and finally silence, accompanied only by dust where the planet had once been.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a spark of light, and he recognized the small, person-sized sphere zipping away into the stretches of the cosmos. The Saiyan had survived. He'd escaped his fate. He'd dealt yet another blow to Freeza's pride.

And that was the straw that broke Freeza's back.

A purple aura surrounded his body, and with a burst of energy-the energy given to him by Goku-he thrust himself into the darkness of space, haphazardly swerving to avoid space debris. He needed to get away. He needed to get as far away from the late planet as he could. He needed to make sure his father could never find him.

He needed to survive.

Freeza couldn't remember what had happened after that. He vaguely remembered drifting, cold, freezing in the vacuum of space. When he next opened his eyes, he was staring at what appeared to be a stone ceiling. He moved his right arm. Then his left. He flexed his toes, curled his tail.

Had it all been a dream? Had he been given a second chance? Had he been given the opportunity to undo his defeat?

He looked down, individually flexing each toe, watching the blue cotton draping his body move with each toe. He thrust the covers off, half-expecting to find his old limbs still attached.

They weren't.

In their place sat metallic prosthetics, steel plates covering his thighs and calves. His arm and tail, too, were turned to steel, and made quiet whirring sounds as he moved them. He looked around, taking note of the I.V. attached to his flesh arm. He swung his legs over the side of the mattress-they were surprisingly heavy-and placed them on the floor, pushing himself to stand. He stumbled at first, catching himself on the wall, before hobbling to the nearby window, staring out at the planet he'd arrived at.

It was a complete dump. Buildings were thrashed and broken, the skies were smoggy and the air smelled foul. Down below he could make out small fires around which only a couple of people could be seen gathering. He felt a chill run down his spine and into his prosthetic hip.

Freeza Planet 53.

He stumbled back a bit as the door creaked open, half expecting to see Zarbon or Dodoria, but only coming face-to-face with a dwarfish blue man wearing a cloak.

"At last, you've awoken, Lord Freeza!" He bowed to one knee, lowering his head. Freeza felt the corner of his mouth twitch; how good it felt to have someone bowing before him again. "I had Tagoma build you a set of prosthetic limbs. How are they?" Freeza remained silent, staring him down for a good five seconds. "M...My lord?"

"Sorbet." Freeza spoke, a hint of annoyance in his throat as always. "How long have I been unconscious?"

"A-About five days, my lord!"

"I see…" He glanced out the window briefly. "And, pray, where did you happen to find me?"

Sorbet gulped, a bead of sweat running down his temple. "We...We found you floating around Freeza Planet 54's atmosphere...I apologize for bringing you to this planet, but it was the closest one with medical supplies!" He babbled out his apologies quickly, but many of them fell on deaf earholes.

"Freeza Planet 54...Quite a ways away from Namek…" Freeza muttered to himself.

"Yes sir." Sorbet nodded. "We received a call from your brother, and-"

"Does he know that I'm here?" Sorbet fell silent. "Sorbet, I asked you a question. Does my brother, and in addition, does my father know where I am?"

"Y-Yes, my lord. Sir Cooler said he thought he'd spotted you flying away from the planet Namek, but you were moving too fast for him to follow…Worry not, he and your father will be here soon, and then all three of you can-"

The floor in front of him erupted in dust: Freeza was pointing at a fresh burn mark.

"Sorbet, I want you to prepare a ship. I am leaving on personal business matters. Remove the tracking functions from the ship and replace them with a radar and mapping system. My destination is 'Earth'. I want it done in the next fifteen minutes, or else…" He glanced at his henchman, a cold, hollow glare that spoke not of the most ruthless killer in the universe, but of someone longing for vengeance.

"Y...Yes sir!" Sorbet cried as he sprinted out of the door.

Freeza glanced out the window, eyes trained on the smog-ridden skies.

He'd been planning to overthrow his father for years now, so in a way, perhaps Son Goku hadn't been a complete waste of his life. His plan was already in motion: he would go to Earth, feigning innocence and a desire for redemption, and tell Goku of his father and brother as they followed him there. With any luck, the ape would help take both of them down, and right when his back was turned…!

Freeza's mouth twisted in a malicious smirk, a chuckle building in his throat as his tail twisted and turned to and fro.

And suddenly this was now happening.

Freeza slammed into the side of his ship, stumbling as more and more heavy-artillery weapons pelted the exterior. According to the mapping systems, he'd gotten close to Earth over the course of eleven months, and had done a decent job of evading his pursuers this whole time.

But now they'd caught him. They had their sights trained on him, and weren't letting up in the slightest. He cried in fury, slamming himself into the window closest to the planet, and soaring downward as his ship exploded behind him. He felt his body burn as he broke through the atmosphere, a few metal plates on his limbs melting away.

The ground rushed up to meet him, and he flipped forward, landing on his feet and creating an enormous crater around himself. He needed to hurry.

He flicked on his scouter, trying to find Goku's energy signal, only to pick up several smaller sources just to his right. He turned, and sure enough, there were the whelps he'd fought on Namek, this time with a few new faces, namely a man with three eyes, a woman with blue hair, and a young man who beared some minor physical resemblance to Goku. The latter of the three, though he resembled Goku, was anything but, as his energy signal proved.

Hundreds of energy signals popped up on his scouter, and sure enough, the ship his father and brother had taken was flying down, preparing to land right nearby.

He jumped towards his former foes, landing in front of them in a panic.

"You've got some nerve showing your face around me, Freeza!" Urgh, of course, Vegeta…On any other day, Freeza would have mocked his ridiculous attire, a pink t-shirt and yellow pants, but now was not the time. "You must want a real challenge, from a real Super Sai-"

"Yes yes, that's very nice Vegeta, now listen, I need to talk with the Super Saiyan." He looked around. "...Who appears to be absent." He noticed one particular person standing to the side, almost like a mini-me of the three-eyed man. "...I'm not even going to ask how you're still alive, there's no time, where is Son Goku."

He glanced around, unease growing by the millisecond. He clenched a fist, glaring at them all. "I'm not pissing around, you maggots! It is of the utmost importance that Son Goku be here! I don't care if he's eating! I don't care if he's training! He could be dying of sepsis for all I care! JUST BRING ME SON GOKU!"

Up stepped the runt, his horrendous haircut having grown longer and spikier. How he loathed the sight. "Why, so you can just kill him on the spot!?"

"Oh I wish I could do so…" Freeza grumbled. "But right now, he's the only chance any of us have for survival! That ship that has just landed is carrying two fighters who are my equ-..." He shut his lips tight, swallowing his pride. "...My superiors in strength." The looks of shock around the group were enough to tell him he'd gotten through to them. "Goku needs to be here! Alone he and I would stand no chance, but together...I'm willing to put our little spat aside momentarily, so bring him to me!"

"That's...going to be a problem…" The short bald one gulped. "He's...not on Earth…"

The silence was thick enough to almost make Freeza gag. He glanced back, his fists clenched in horror as Cooler and their father exited the ship, with several hundreds of soldiers following them. "Wh...What do you mean he's not on Earth? I saw him escape Namek before it was destroyed! He has to be here!"

"We tried to bring him here, but he said he didn't want to come back." The Namek explained, sweat on his forehead. "We have no idea when he'll arrive." Freeza felt his eye twitch, despair beginning to bubble and froth in his chest.

"Well, well, well…" Cooler and their father floated up behind him, followed by several hundreds of soldiers. "It appears little Freeza is not only a soft-hearted coward, but also a filthy traitor." A sneer curled itself upon his lips as Freeza shakily turned to face him. "Orders, father?"

"Men, kill the Earthlings and the monkey. I'll leave Freeza to you, Cooler."

As if on instinct, Freeza lifted his arm, firing a Death Beam at his brother, who swiftly dodged it, allowing it to hit about ten of the soldiers behind him.

"Do you want him alive or dead, father?"

"I'll leave that up to you."

Cooler smirked, glaring daggers at Freeza. "Dead it is then."

To everyone's horror, Cooler raised his finger above his head, an enormous energy ball forming at his fingertip. It grew larger, and larger, looking more and more like the sun as each second passed.

Freeza, in a panic, turned to his temporary allies. "D-Do something! He'll destroy your precious planet, and by extension, all of us!" But nobody moved, staring at Cooler in terror. Freeza had been terrifying enough on Namek, but this was a completely different level. The Earth was doomed, and nobody could save it.

But then, a blur caught everyone's eye, rushing towards Cooler and causing his attack to detonate prematurely, blinding everyone momentarily, but doing nothing more. There was a thud, and Freeza recognized the squirming and writhing thing on the ground before them: Cooler's tail.

Cooler himself had leapt away at the last second, caught off guard by the advance. Before them all stood a young man with lavender hair, clad in a blue denim jacket, black jeans, and brown combat boots. In his hand was a sword, purple blood glistening off of the steel blade. Before anyone could react, he vanished, blood flying every which way as King Cold's fleet was decimated in a matter of seconds. The boy emerged, completely unscathed, staring down both Cold and Cooler.

Freeza couldn't remember what happened next. It was all a blur, a mix of reds, and purples, and yellows, and oranges, and silvers, and golds. Blood. Fire. Steel. The glow of…

He couldn't bear to even think the name.

When it was all over, specs of viscera dotted the ground around them: what once had been Cooler was now literal dust in the wind, burnt to ashes after being brutally sliced apart. King Cold, too, was gone, nothing more than a scorch mark before the young man.

Speaking of whom, Freeza now saw the tip of a blade in front of him, aimed directly at his face. The young man glared at him, a morose hollowness in his cyan eyes.

"Freeza." He spat, as though the name were bile in his throat. "I didn't expect to see you here…At least, not in this state." The look in his eyes became more of one of curiosity and intrigue. "That's not good...I never expected…"

"Hey!"

Freeza never thought he'd be so glad to hear Vegeta's ear-grating voice.

"What the hell was that?!" The Saiyan prince cried, confusion and shock evident in his tone.

The young man before them powered down, his golden locks returning to their soft lavender color. His scowl turned to a sort of...grin. No malice or ill will, but obviously a grin that told of hardship, and trial, and...nostalgia?

"I'm sure you're all very confused." He turned away from Freeza, facing the rest of the group. "I can't provide many answers, for...reasons. But I can guarantee one thing: Goku will be here soon. I'm going to go to the spot where we're supposed to meet up right now as a matter of fact. Care to join me?"

Freeza sat a ways away, watching everyone else socialize and drink and snack. His stomach gurgled slightly, having not eaten in several hours, but he stood his ground, careful not to make eye-contact with the young man. In fact, forget eye-contact, he made certain not to look at anyone while the young man could see him.

The mystery man had said Goku would be here, and yet, here they were, three hours later, and not one sign of the monkey. His scouter clicked and buzzed, and no energy signals were showing up besides those before him.

Finally, he could take it no more. He stood, marching over to the group, several of whom straightened up, bracing themselves. He stopped in front of them, looking left and right.

He grit his teeth. "It's been three hours." He cleared his throat. "Son Goku isn't here yet. Would you mind telling us what you're playing at by keeping us here any longer?"

"Trust me, he'll be here." The young man glared. "If you're so eager for someone to kill you, I'll gladly comply." He placed his hand on his sword's grip. "I may not be as strong as Goku, but I think you can guess how you'd fare against me, given what happened to your 'superiors'."

Freeza's teeth ached, and he realized now he'd been clenching his jaw tightly. He shut his lips tightly, brow furrowing.

A whistling sound filled the air, and in moments, a Saiyan pod crashed just a few meters away, causing everyone to cover their eyes. The group hurried over to the hole, watching as the door opened, and a silhouette climbed out.

Freeza's spine stiffened, the sight of messy black hair setting him on edge. The clothes looked even more ridiculous than Vegeta's, but there was no doubt about it. This man was definitely Son Goku.

The Saiyan leapt up from the crater, landing before everyone with a smile. The child rushed forward, tackling his father in a hug. Goku patted his shoulder, grinning patiently first at his son, then at the faces around him.

Finally, his eyes locked with Freeza's, and for a split second, Freeza saw flames of rage dance behind his previously-soft eyes. It lasted no more than that, though, and was quickly replaced first with confusion, then a look as though he were saying 'eh, whatever'.

To Freeza, it was maddening.

Lightning pulsed and crackled, the air thick with heat and mist and energy, the very molecules dancing erratically.

Cell cackled, Gohan powerless before him. His body expanded further, coming ever closer to bursting, and taking the planet with him.

"This can't be…" Freeza stammered, fists clenched in horror. "I...I can't die here, not like this…!"

"Can't you think about anyone but yourself?!" Krillin cried out, eyes wide in terror. "You're not the only one on this planet, you know!"

Trunks looked on, collapsing to his knees. "I don't believe it...Even in this timeline, nothing's changed…" He let out a desperate chuckle. "No, that's not true...Things are even worse, now…The Earth can't be saved..."

Goku stared, sweat beading on his forehead. "No. There's still one way." He turned, glancing at everyone with those same compassionate eyes, that same patient smile. "Goodbye, everyone."

Before anyone could say anything, Goku vanished, appearing right in front of Cell, arm outstretched and hand placed against his rapidly-swelling body. He looked down, where Gohan knelt, defeated and humiliated. "You did well, Gohan. I'm proud of you."

The young boy was at a loss for words, barely managing to choke out, "D-...Dad?"

"Tell Chichi...Tell your mother that I had no other choice." He grinned, the last grin he'd ever give his son, before vanishing once more, taking Cell with him.

Goku had used Instant Translocation at just the last second. Before Cell could even let out a cry of fury, everything cracked and sparked, a loud, bright burst of energy erupting from his body, completely obliterating King Kai's planet, Son Goku, and himself. His nucleus was torn apart, completely disintegrated in the blast. And then, everything went black.

"You know you can't hide forever."

Gohan nodded, eyes downcast. Piccolo glanced at him, unable to sense the same kind of energy the young man once had. He hadn't given up training completely, but after Cell's defeat, something had changed in the young warrior. He became distant to his friends, and shortly after his younger brother was born, he left Mount Paozu behind, without any word or indication of where he was going.

The first person he came to, the only one he trusted, was Piccolo.

"Gohan." Piccolo joined his former pupil on the edge of Kami's Lookout, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You know that it wasn't your fault." His shoulder tensed. "Goku was a great man. He would have given his life for the planet regardless of whether or not it was you down there. His choices were his own, right to the end."

"You didn't see him, Piccolo." Gohan muttered. "The look in his eyes...He was so proud of me...But it was my actions, no, my lack of action, that forced him into that kind of corner." He sighed. "I...I wish I'd just gotten another chance to talk to him...To apologize for getting so carried away with my power. After everything, nothing's changed...I'm still just as unstable as ever."

"Then you need to just do better." Piccolo removed his hand from Gohan's shoulder, rising to full height. "Your mother is worried sick. She has been since you left. And your brother is growing up with nobody but her to guide him. You know well how she is."

"I do…" Gohan choked, teeth grit. "...You haven't seen him, Piccolo. He looks...He looks just like him." He looked up at the Namek, throat quivering. "How can I go home? How can I look my dad in the face every day, and yet never have the chance to find closure? Never have the chance to be forgiven?"

The Namek turned, walking towards the main building. "The first step to forgiveness is self-reflection. Learn from your mistakes. Face them and conquer them. If you wish for it, forgiveness will come, starting with forgiveness of the self." Before stepping inside, Piccolo glanced back at his disciple. "Remember this. Freeza came to Earth because Goku spared him. When next they met, Goku may not have forgiven him, but it came with time. If he can come even a modicum close to forgiving someone like Freeza, I've no doubt in my mind that he never even needed to think about forgiving his own."

Goten stared in horror at the empty Lookout. Buu stood there, a temporarily-sated grin plastered on his smug face. The boy looked left, right, eyes searching desperately for any surviving Z-Fighters.

"You monster!" Trunks cried, hair glowing golden, cyan eyes brimming with tears. "Where are they?! What did you do to everyone?!"

The beastly creature simply chuckled, patting his stomach in satisfaction.

Goten's fists clenched, and with a cry of fury, the Lookout was consumed in a blindingly bright light. Buu was forced to take a step back, the amount of power emanating from the young man nearly enough to blow him away. Golden light flashed and pulsed across the Lookout, and cyan eyes burned into Buu's red ones.

A new Super Saiyan had been born.

Dust cleared, lightning arcing through the air as the Spirit Bomb's flash faded. Goku floated down, his golden aura fading just as fast. He touched down, raising his head warily, searching for Buu's ki.

"I-Is he d-dead?" Hercule cowered behind both Goku and the beaten Vegeta. "D-Didja get 'im?"

Goku searched and searched as his comrades approached from behind. Freeza gulped, eyes settling on the dust cloud. "Is that wretch finally gone?"

Seconds passed, before the dust was blown away completely, revealing Buu in all his terrifying glory. The beast cackled, pounding his chest with each laugh.

"Damn...It wasn't enough…!" Goku grit his teeth and clenched his fists, sweat beading on his forehead.

"What now, Kakarot?" Vegeta grunted, pushing himself up. "The Spirit Bomb wasn't enough...It's never been enough...!"

Goku scowled, before sighing and smiling bitterly. "There's one last thing I can do…" He turned to his friends. "Does anyone have a rice cooker?"

Many years had passed since Goku's sacrifice, Buu having been sealed by the Evil Containment Wave inside of a small vial, which was then stored away inside of the Room of Spirit and Time.

His friends had attempted to bring him back once more with the Dragon Balls, but to their confusion, neither Shenron nor Porunga were able to locate his soul. As time went on, the world changed more and more, ever turning with the flow of time.

The Age of 784 had come just as the others had, and the world was, as it had been for nearly a decade, peaceful. The World Tournament was fast approaching, and the air around the Son home buzzed with the excitement of the newest addition to their family.

Pan rocked back and forth on her bed, eyes set on the calendar across the room, the very next day circled in red. Her clock was ticking ever-so-slowly to midnight, anxiousness and joy and fear and nervousness fluttering through her stomach. She was finally going to enter this year, and all of her friends and family would be there to watch her.

The clock struck twelve, and she leapt to her feet, throwing her pajamas to the floor and hurrying to her closet, grabbing the child-sized orange gi, 'kame' emblazoned on the chest. She donned the outfit, tying her belt around her waist tightly, before reaching into the corner of the space and grabbing a red pole that matched her in height.

Quietly, she snuck to the window, opening it and climbing out. She leapt from the ledge, aimed the pole downward, and whispered, "Extend!"

The Power Pole shot downward, jamming itself into the ground and allowing her to slide down safely. Upon reaching the sidewalk, the polearm retracted, and Pan hurried down the road towards the arena.

She stopped outside of the gate, staring up at the statues atop the walls. She jumped up, gripping the ledge tightly, and pulling herself up to gaze into the stadium.

Suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed her around the waist, turning her around and lowering her to the asphalt. She spun on her heel, coming face-to-face with her father, Gohan.

"Pan, your mother and I told you, no sneaking out to the stadium after dark." He scolded, a slight grin evident. "You may have Saiyan blood, but it's still dangerous for you if you don't know how to make use of it."

"But daaad!" Pan whined, shoulders slumping in disappointment. "I wanted t'be here first thing in the morning! I don't wanna miss out this year like I did last year!"

"Hey now, don't worry!" Gohan cooed, scooping her up in his arms. "You're not going to miss it this year. Your old man will make sure of that!"

As if to demonstrate, he bolted down the street, and in seconds, they arrived back at their home. He propped her up on his shoulders, ducking to avoid hitting her on the door frame, before sitting her down on the armchair in the middle of the room. He drifted into the kitchen, silent as a mouse, and returned after a minute, a glass of warm milk in his hand.

"Drink up, Pan, and then I'll tuck you in. Just as training is important, one must be well-rested as well." He smiled as his daughter downed the glass in one gulp, not unlike how his late father would. The thought of Goku momentarily dampened his mood, but he shook the feeling away, grinning as only a proud father could as Pan yawned heavily, eyelids drooping.

He picked her up, carrying her up the stairs to her room, and dressing her back in her pajamas. He tucked her in, planted a kiss on her forehead, and shut the light, leaving the door open just a crack. As he walked back down the hallway, he passed a framed photograph that had been taken shortly before the Buu fiasco: He and all of his friends and family were grinning at the camera, Goku and Chichi standing betwixt their two sons. Gohan glanced at his younger self, noting the glistening in his eyes.

Just as Piccolo had said, Goku never even needed a second thought.


End file.
